


tell me, why does my heart burn this way?

by wedontevensow



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Always a Different Sex, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-22
Updated: 2017-10-22
Packaged: 2019-01-21 00:11:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12445056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wedontevensow/pseuds/wedontevensow
Summary: So this happened... Yeah.I couldn't keep myself from writing a genderbend Percabeth fanfiction. (spoiler: I didn't try to keep myself.)This is the first time I seriously tried to write something in English so there might be typos, solecism & that kind of stuff. So let me know if there's anything like that





	tell me, why does my heart burn this way?

**1.**

Adrian Chase was a stubborn child.

Of course, Chiron wouldn’t expect otherwise from a son of Athena. But at times, this eleven-year-old boy who didn’t know what giving up is, made him thought about the concept of retiring.

‘'Look, child,’’ he tried again. ‘’You are a very mature and talented half-blood.’’

‘’So you will finally let me go on a quest?''

‘’I’m afraid I can’t.’’

He frowned. ‘’But you said I was mature and talented,’’ he said. ‘’I am. I am the most experienced amongst my siblings. You saw with your own eyes how good my training goes. I have knowledge about monsters-‘’

‘’You are still a child, Adrian.’’ Chiron interrupted him. ‘’We have talked about this.’’

He didn’t say anything for a while. And just when Chiron thought that he managed this one too, he asked ‘’Is it Luke?’’

Chiron turned and looked at him. ‘’What do you mean?’’

‘'Since Luke returned from that quest, something's changed in the camp. I can feel it. As if. . . The calm before the storm.’’ His youthful eyes had a calculating look that could catch even the tiniest lie.

While Chiron thought about what would be the right answer, he continued. ‘’Luke never wanted to go to that quest. It was obvious,’’ His eyes were pleading now. ‘’But I _want_ to go.’’

‘’Even though you know you may die?’’

‘’I won’t die,’’ he said. ‘’I know it.’’

His confidence made Chiron worried and proud at once.

‘’No,’’ he said and watched the disappointment in his face with guilt. But Adrian quickly gathered himself up and it started all over again. ‘’But I am old enough. You can’t say that I’m a child.’’

Chiron heaved a sigh.

‘’You may not be believing that right now but when I return with success from any quest you'll give me, you’ll see that-‘’

‘’Adrian,’’ he interrupted him again. He pointed the armchair in front of his desk. ‘’Come, take a seat.’’

After settling on his desk and considering the outcomes of what he was about to say, he spoke. ‘'I can't let you go on a quest,'' he said carefully. ‘’Because you're not destined to go. Not now.’’

Adrian was silent for a few moment which was very odd for him. ‘’You know my destiny?’’ he asked finally, playing with his camp necklace.

‘’I do. You can’t go against it and you can't go on a quest before it's time. You have to wait. . . until someone special comes to the camp.’’

‘’Someone special. . . Do you know who it is?’’

‘’I only know they will come one day. Then you will get your wish.’’

He nodded slowly. It was clear he was pondering over it. He walked towards the door with the same slowness. He stopped when he reached it.

‘’My destiny, the quest I will go, this special person,'' he said ruminatively. ‘'You learned these from the Oracle, right? All of this must be parts of something bigger. There is a prophecy.''

Then he left, murmuring about researching.

**2.**  
It was almost midnight when Adrian heard the sound. He and Chiron were discussing camp's budget in the Big House. It was almost a month since he started helping Chiron with that kind of stuff. Sometimes it required him to stay awake outside his cabin when he was supposed to be asleep. He preferred sleep but he would never tell Chiron that.

‘'Something's happening outside,'' he said suddenly.

‘’Outside?’’ Chiron didn’t sound interested. He was studying an advertisement brochure about non-fatal magical items.

‘’Yes. I heard something like. . . roaring.’’

‘’Maybe the Harpies are chasing a camper again?’’

‘’No. This was from farther.’’

He suddenly wasn’t sleepy at all.

Chiron’s eyes were still on the paper in front of him, but his senses were focused on somewhere else. ‘’Are you sure it was a roar?’’

‘’I will be,’’ he said and went out to the porch.

It was pitch black and the light from the Big House wasn’t enough to see ahead. He wanted to go back to grab a flashlight but he was already staring at Half-Blood Hill and he couldn’t keep his eyes away. He heard the sound again and yes, it was a roar. There was a monster around the camp.

Chiron was behind him. ‘’Did you see anything?’’

‘’No. But it’s there.’’

Minutes passed that felt like hours and Adrian’s eyes finally caught a stirring.

‘’There! Passed through the borders!’’

The stirring was hardly moving. And it was also carrying something. Probably another person. Adrian almost pitied for them but his excitement was preventing him from feeling anything else.

_This must be the one._

Finally, they were close enough for Adrian to describe properly. It was a girl who couldn’t be older than him, carrying a passed out satyr in her arms. She was holding something tightly in her hand and looked as if she was about to pass out too. (Which she did with a grunt seconds later.) The thing in her hand ( _a horn?_ ) dropped down to the wooden floor.  
Adrian looked at the girl. Her dark hair was a wet mess, slightly open eyes were bright turquoise and she had mud stains all over her clothes.

‘’She’s the one,’’ he told Chiron. ‘’She must be.’’

‘’Silence, Adrian. She’s still conscious,’’ Chiron said. ‘’Bring her inside.’’

Even if she was, both of them were sure she wasn’t anymore after Chiron’s words. He carried her inside in satisfied silence.

**3.**  
She drooled in her sleep.

It wasn’t a very fitting characteristic for the special person definition in his mind. Adrian tried to wipe the saliva before it reached the pillow until he stopped minding. He was also giving her Ambriosa from time to time.

He had learned from Chiron that her name was Percy Jackson. And apparently, Percy Jackson had defeated the Minotaur without any actual training. That was enough for her to irritate him.

He tried not to care too much. If she was the one, then he was willing to try to get along with her. Though, from his past encounters with pretty girls, he knew he wasn’t very good at communicating with them.

But Athena always had a plan. And this Percy Jackson had to know something about the solstice.

He was scraping Ambriosa drips off her chin when her eyes opened. They had also opened for a short time before but this time there was only the two of them. Adrian couldn’t keep himself.

"What will happen at the summer solstice?"

‘’. . .huh?’’ She blinked.

He was nervous, "What's going on? What was stolen? We've only got a few weeks!"

If they were going to make this work, they needed to be fast. A plan needed to be done before everything went worse.

But the girl didn’t seem to understand the situation. ‘’Don’t know whaddya talking 'bout,’’ she mumbled. ‘’Sorry. . .’’

_What?_ Adrian was about to ask some more questions out of frustration and suddenly someone was knocking the door. Percy Jackson dozed off as quick as she woke up. He contented himself with stuffing some Ambriosa through her mouth.

‘'I still don't understand exactly why _I_ have to do this.’’ He told Chiron while scraping the drips. ‘'There are at least a dozen campers in Cabin Seven.''

‘’I thought it would be fitting. You nagged at me about guests and prophecies and the special person for months after all.’’ Chiron smiled at him.

‘’So it’s really her,’’ he said in wonder.

‘’You don’t think so?’’

Adrian thought about the girl's clueless look for a bit. ‘'I don't know,'' he admitted after a while.

**4.**  
Percy Jackson was _irritating_ him.

‘’You sure you are a New Yorker?’’ he asked her.

‘'I am,'' she frowned. ‘'I was. Just like I was sure that there were only a hundred and two floors in the Empire State building.''

‘’Unbelievable,’’ he grumbled. ‘’You might have been the most non-educational person I’ve ever met. If Ares’ cabin didn’t exist.’’ Adrian was giving her his whole afternoon and all she did was saying dangerous names and asking questions about obvious things. (Not that he didn’t like answering questions.) (He loved answering them.)

Percy Jackson laughed abruptly. But she wasn’t looking happy _at all._ ‘’My mother is gone,’’ she said. ‘’My best friend is a goat and my teacher is a horse. There are teenage girls under the water waving at me. The last thing I need is a scrawny smartass kid's nagging.'' 

He wasn’t- ‘’I’m trying to help you!’’

‘’Well, your help sucks ass!’’ Her eyes were like tiny turquoise storms and they were daring him to talk back.

‘’We shouldn’t be fighting,’’ he muttered.

‘’Yeah? Why not?’’ She glanced at him.

‘’I just- I thought you-. . . and I could work together.’’ He should warn Luke about not to tell her the whole _special person_ thing. He doubted she would understand it and it would make him seem like a dreamer. 

She didn't say anything and both of them watched the lake in uncomfortable –for him at least- silence for a while.

‘’I think I interrupted your story,’’ Percy Jackson said finally. She wasn’t anywhere near happy but she looked calmer than before. ‘’You were saying something about Olympus.’’

‘’Well… Right after our visit,’’ Adrian said, keeping his voice down. ‘’The weather got weird. As if the world was fighting itself. It was obvious something was wrong in Olympus. So I start listening. And I heard some of the satyrs a couple of times.’’ He draws near to Percy Jackson. ‘’Something was stolen,’’ he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

_Which hero do you think he sent?_ One of them had asked.

‘’What kind of thing?’’ she asked.

_A half-blood of the eldest gods shall reach sixteen against all odds._

‘’Something important,’’ Adrian said. ‘’Such that if it isn’t returned by summer solstice. . .’’ He grimaced.

_Olympus to preserve or raze._

‘’So you’re saying there will be war? Between the. . . gods?’’

He nodded. ‘’I thought you might know something.’’

Percy Jackson shook her head. Her eyes were now weary but the look in them was sincere. Her entire life had likely changed today and Adrian knew she didn’t want to team up with him but he also believed that she wanted to help.

If only he didn’t need help. ‘'I've got to get a quest,'' he said. He was talking to himself in front of strangers again but he didn't care. ‘'I'm not too young. If they would just tell me the problem. . .''

He’d started planning just as Percy Jackson’s stomach growled. She looked a little miserable. ‘’Go,’’ he told her. ‘’I’ll catch you later.’’

So she left.

He was confused about Percy Jackson. Mostly because her eyes had a silly look one moment and fierce the other. He changed his opinion about whether she could be the one or not three times in an afternoon. Also, he wasn't sure she would be a good companion, she was too trusting but too daring at the same time.

It would be foolish not to use her in capture the flag after what she did to Clarisse, he was sure of that at least.

_Don’t be Poseidon at least,_ he prayed. _Be Zeus. Be Zeus._

**5.**  
It was Poseidon.

Chiron presented Percy who was very confused and kind of soaked at the moment. And Andrew had to kneel like everyone else. There was Percy’s blood where his knee touched the ground.

He couldn’t sleep from thinking that night.

Daytime also wasn’t any better. Percy had to remind him to focus a few times in their Ancient Greek lessons. The poor girl was probably just looking for someone who didn't treat her like she had the plague. Unfortunately, they couldn't be friends anymore because of the rivalry. But Adrian still tried to make her feel better. (He insulted her intelligence.)  
A quest was near, very near. You didn't have to be an Athena child to know that, you just had to look up at the sky. Mr. D was angrier and Chiron was more concerned. Adrian was often keeping an eye on the Big House.

He went out early from his Cabin on a morning where the weather was particularly bad. The thunderclouds were so dark and close to the ground, it was unintelligible that it was a morning. He wore his mother’s gift and went to the Big House.

Apparently, he was late even because Grover was eating pinochle cards anxiously while Chiron was roaming around. Percy was already upstairs. He silently leaned on a wall and waited with them.

It wasn’t long until they heard the footsteps. The color was drained from Percy’s face. She was biting her nails while she told them the prophecy. Though, she was hiding some parts for herself. Just like Chiron he had noticed it as well. He tried not to think too much about it or he would start worrying. And there was no time to worry.

Percy Jackson was going to choose her companions for her quest. 

It wasn't surprising that one of them was Grover. He knew Percy much longer than Adrian did. Also, he was more than willing to go on a quest to get his searcher's license. Even if that meant going to the Underworld.

‘’The other,’’ Chiron said. ‘’Has already volunteered. If you will accept his help.’’

Then came the moment he had waited for months- for years.

‘’Gee!’’ Percy said sarcastically. ‘’Who would be stupid enough to volunteer for a guest like this?’’

Okay, it wasn't exactly like how he imagined it. He takes his cap off and stuffed it into his back pocket.

‘’You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for a guest, seaweed brain,’’ he said. He didn’t know where the nickname had come from- he wasn't exactly the kind of person who gave nicknames. But he thought seaweed brain fitted Percy nicely. ‘’Athena is no fan of Poseidon but if you want to prevent this war, I’m your best chance to keep you from messing things up.’’

‘’Okay,'' she nodded. ''We will make you bait using your passion about getting chased by monsters.’’

‘’I can change my mind any moment.’’

‘’Sure you will, smartass,’’ she said while gave him a look that made his cheeks go red against his will.

‘’You want my help or not?’’ He had never found her mother so right about her rivalry with Poseidon. He was also peeved at himself for that one time where he thought Percy's face was cute when she was focused on something. (She was reading Hesiod-)

‘’A trio,’’ Percy said. She was looking serious this time. ‘’That’ll work.’’

Adrian had seen her as angry, sheepish or excited but it was his first time seeing her courageous. Like a hero. He felt proud to go on a guest at her side, even though didn't want to admit.

‘’Excellent,’’ Chiron said through anxious eyes. ‘’This afternoon, we can take you as far as the bus terminal in Manhattan. After that, you are on your own.’’

**Author's Note:**

> So this happened... Yeah.  
> I couldn't keep myself from writing a genderbend Percabeth fanfiction. (spoiler: I didn't try to keep myself.)  
> This is the first time I seriously tried to write something in English so there might be typos, solecism & that kind of stuff. So let me know if there's anything like that


End file.
